My advice to first-time candidates is simple:
- Make sure you know your position on the big policies of the race
- Try to speak concisely so the message remains even when clipped for space
- Be open to talking with any good journalist who's willing to cover the race
Being interviewed: a conversation with stakes. Cover of a substack article.
Being interviewed as a candidate for print can be a daunting task, not knowing which of your words will be quoted. But state races aren't like the presidency, where every word is parsed. Here, getting any coverage is difficult.
chrisoatesforrep.substack.com/p/being-inte...
This -- not new natural gas pipelines -- is what's going to rescue New England's energy system & bring down bills.
Somerville and Medford! going live with weekly office hours now at meet.google.com/oep-stvg-tqc.
Let me know what you want the Commonwealth to do differently!
My four year old got upset at the start of soccer so I spent the practice carrying him and I think he still touched the ball more than Bentancur in the first half.
Completely agree. What’s notable to me with the data center buildout is how uncertain so may of the variables are. We don’t really know the true demand, the depreciation schedules, the token efficiency of future models or use cases, etc. Lots of ways this could go over the next few years.
Me holding the palm cards for the campaign
Palm cards! Designed by myself with two main objectives:
1. Bright name! I started this race with name ID hovering area zero so I want that to jump out.
2. Family picture rather than professional. I want people to know what I care about and I’m sure I’ll show my policy chops as the campaign goes
It’s debatable whether the GPUs in the data centers should be viewed as infrastructure. Yes they are the foundation for other economic activity, but they degrade fast enough that they’re almost opex
My PhD dissertation is back into relevancy. What’s interesting is how little has changed in some aspects from 03-05 (my case studies) to today, despite huge changes in the world. US still wants EU to have strong militaries but not too independent.
Judging an economy is more complicated than just looking at GDP numbers. So I break it down into three components (with a statistic of my own):
The good: Wealthiest state in the nation.
The bad: Home prices
The worrying: Other states growing faster
open.substack.com/pub/chrisoat...
Ratio of indexed house price to income. Massachusetts is worse than the rest of the country.
About to collect the last batch of signatures I need to get on the ballot, but I'll leave this depressing chart here, from a newsletter I'll be publishing tomorrow.
These kinds of charts are invaluable. So often in politics policies can sound equivalent - I want X when my opponent wants Y - but the scale of the two are drastically different.
The chart also shows why cities are in a tough spot. Absent new growth, more revenue comes from raising property taxes
Have you ever had a job interview where the other people going for the job are sitting right next to you? That's a bit like what a candidate forum feels like. A little weird, but a great way for voters to directly compare their options.
chrisoatesforrep.substack.com/p/whats-a-ca...
... which is to not worry too much.
There's no one palm card design that will win an election for you.
My plan is to have multiple versions, each with a different purpose and to lead with Name ID and a bit on myself and the platform, with future iterations leaning heavily into one. #mapoli
Chris Oates for State Rep front of palm card
Chris Oates for State Rep back of palm card. Text is I grew up in Canton, Mass., went to college in Rhode Island, and completed a PhD in England. I‘ve worked on the Ranked Choice Voting campaign in 2020, taught at Boston University, and analyzed geopolitics and macroeconomics for the World Bank, European Parliament, and Department of Defense. I currently run my own business that makes public policy more accessible, so people can know what’s happening in their government without an expensive lobbyist. But my most important job is as a dad. And I’m running to solve the problems we face now before he has to. Our platform is for real change, including: Statewide housing reform to get more supply built in the cities and towns that are refusing to do so. Cleaner and cheaper energy through incentivizing solar and battery storage to bring down costs and carbon emissions. Supporting local journalism with tax credits for subscriptions. Universal childcare which helps parents, children, and the wider economy. Most of all, I am committed to being a true representative for every person in the district. If you have a problem in your neighborhood, if there’s a policy we should look at, or if you just want to share your thoughts, I’m always available at chris@chrisoates.org. Get in touch and tell me how I can help.
Palm cards are the heart of a campaign's lit, but they are trying to do three separate goals:
1. Name ID
2. Persuade on candidate
3. Persuade on platform
Those obviously can lead to conflicts on what to prioritize. Luckily for me experience in startups provides the answer to this dilemma...
Does the cross-national and less structured nature of the sport lead to more of a networker seeming attractive to the bosses? Does the wage inequality mean that failures at lower levels can be explained away? Or the more atomized ownership are susceptible to big personalities?
I’d love to see a breakdown of how people get employed in various sports management roles. Baseball and basketball front offices were full of econ majors who understood stats but soccer still seems to be the province of former coach who wheels and deals.
I can only imagine how it would have felt to lose in Nov 1916 to Wilson on a platform of staying out of the war only to see him enter the war a month after inauguration.
Got to use my Italian two days in a row while doorknocking so now am going to take a break while watching one of the most underrated gems of Italian cinema.
youtu.be/KF0VYpzsZYE?...
Geoffrey Chaucer as a hype man would alone make it a classic.
A Knight's Tale is one of the most underrated movies of the century. Top performances all around. Great setting. Good plot. And who doesn't love a joust.
Childcare costs parents a lot. Not having it costs the rest of us even more.
Everyone knows childcare is expensive, but we don’t acknowledge that the cost is paid by all of us in the form of a weaker economy than if we had universal coverage.
chrisoatesforrep.substack.com/p/why-univer...
Chris Oates for State Representative endorsed by Tufts Democrats
Very pleased to have received the endorsement of the @tufts_democrats after last night's forum.
It's easy for local politics to ignore students, but their enthusiasm for democracy is so important for those of us who have had a couple more decades to get jaded.
This represents a defeat for the United States. All the excellent tactical efforts from our servicemembers did not matter in the face of strategic incoherence that is leaving Iran in a stronger position than two months ago.
As a candidate, I can tell you that it's easier to tell people there are no trade-offs and that everything is the fault of [Unpopular Group X]. But that's not reality and we need people, no matter what you think about Rep. Khanna's other positions, to stand up for basic arithmatic.
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to deliver a political speech for the first time ever, here is the inside scoop.
- No written text
- Lots of nerves
- Not too bad overall
chrisoatesforrep.substack.com/p/what-is-it...
The potholes in question.
I have happily crossed the first time candidate threshold from feeling pre-job interview anxiety before starting a canvass to now looking forward to getting a bit of free time so I can do one no matter how short.
Great excuse to get some steps in and talk to neighbors about potholes.
#mapoli
Canvassed all day today. There is a real skepticism among voters about promises on housing affordability. It really shows how trust is the most important resource an elected official has and it’s running pretty low among a lot of people. #mapoli
